Fear of Herdsmen, Beginning of Hunger

One would have been quick to fault the
Acting President, Yemi Osibanjo on his claims in the 2017 Democracy Day
broadcast of defeating insecurity in the northeast. He had highlighted some
strides recorded by the Buhari-led government in the war against insurgency in
the region to include the return of displaced persons including farmers to
their farms.

However, perhaps just as the
Executive President, Muhammadu Buhari and his Cabinet members who are mostly
also thought to be lying each time they try to assure of government’s victory
against Boko Haram in the northeast, the Acting President might just be
uninformed.

Government officials certainly
cannot be everywhere. They therefore depend largely on the information supplied
to them from their field officers for any policy decisions or statements. The
Nigerian government has indeed been on its oars as far as the anti-insecurity
struggle is concerned. The allocation of resources for the purchase of military
hardware as well as the training of military personnel for the campaign is
indeed commendable.

What is however of concern is that
while there is still much to be done, baseless pronouncements are constantly
being made on how well the fight is going in favour of government troops.
Understood, good public relations and conflict sensitive approaches are
necessary for the social and psychological wellbeing of the country.

However, those affected by the
situation know the truth and feel discouraged each time the government says
things that are not on ground. The insurgents themselves could sometimes be
propelled to leave signatures of their continued existence, through renewed
attacks whenever government goes public with the half-baked truth.

Children fetching water from a well shared with cattle in Northeast Borno.photo by Masara Kim

The
Light Bearer’s
recent trip to the northeast where it had the privilege of traveling through a
road that is bordered on one side by the Sambisa forest in fact was eye opening
on why Boko Haram is always fond of releasing videos, making daring statements
against the government and sometimes calling the officers liars.

Military guarding farmers

The military in Borno state where The Light Bearer toured are indeed
brave. They are mere mortals with the same emotions like everyone else. They
however defy every comfort to operate in such deadly terrains where they
constantly have to live in fear of an unexpected attack.

There are even soldiers who have
hardly spent 24 hours with their families in over three years. They don’t get
the chance to see civilian faces regularly. Therefore, such opportunities
especially during military guarded mass convoy travels which is the fashion
especially between Maiduguri and Damboa, always make their excitement palpable.

Those of them that operate in the
villages with few traces of civilian residents do not even know who is for or
against them as the insurgents at times reportedly send them children and women
as spies. They always have to be on guard while at the same time providing
security to the civilians in their places of worship, businesses, schools and
farmlands.

However, the farms are scattered
with some even located miles away from the communities which cannot all be
guarded. The soldiers in such places therefore have only had to designate areas
and periods within which farming activities can take place. Anything beyond
those hours or territories is not their responsibility. The farmers who have
their farms located outside the designated territories which cover only few
meters around the affected communities will therefore depend on relief
materials, if ever to survive.

Furthermore, in Chibok for instance
which The Light Bearer visited, the
fertile lands which require little or no fertilizer for any yield are the
farthest which are unguarded. Those whose farms fall within the guarded areas
therefore have the challenge of purchasing fertilizer or risk their chances of
making good harvest.

With the growing insecurity in the
region however, which has virtually crippled socio-economic activities, the
resources to get these farm inputs are another challenge. Since government and
humanitarian service providers only assist in the area of food supply, any of
such needs as clothing, healthcare, toiletries, school fees and among others,
farm inputs have to be provided by the people themselves, which in most cases
they can’t afford.

Persistent Isolated attacks driving farmers away

The same is the case in the
middle-belt, the agricultural hub of Nigeria. Farmers displaced during the
recent Fulani herdsmen attacks in Plateau state cannot return to their farms
because of persistent, mostly isolated attacks. The few places where farming
activities are safely carried out are either less fertile or located in the
cities where land is in high demand and only short crops can be cultivated.

Sometimes in fact, the Fulani
wait for the crops to be cultivated, but while they are still growing, they go
overnight and mow down the farms. In some instances however, they let the crops
reach harvest but either graze on them or steal them. That leaves the farmers
with deep scars and frustration, giving that their entire means of survival has
been taken away from them despite expending their lifetime savings on it.

In the Southeast as well, women
in Delta state recently protested over frequent attacks by herdsmen who mostly
chase their husbands and rape the women. The Fulani herders are also said to be
in the habit of harvesting natives’ farm produce with which they use to feed
their cattle.

The development, which is
almost the same in Anambra and other states in the region has crippled
socio-economic life in the region. Prices of agricultural products such as
garri, plantain, yam, okro, melon, maize-corn, sugar-cane and vegetables have
shot up beyond the reach of the average salary earner/ family as reports The
Vanguard.

In many of the tormented
farming states of the federation, Gov. Ortom of Benue state seems to be the
boldest in dealing with the situation. By signing into law the bill banning
public grazing, the governor has drastically reduced attacks on farmers. Most
other governors just like the presidency always make merry over achievements
they haven’t recorded in the security sector.

In Delta, while the governor
was claiming he had deployed policemen to accompany farmers to their farms, the
farmers said they had no security guards on their farms. Likewise, while Gov.
Lalong was celebrating the return of peace having successfully nipped all forms
of insecurity in the bud, farmers say they are being shot at each time they go
to cultivate.

The general implication is that
food for local consumption and raw materials needed to facilitate the federal
government’s local manufacturing policy might not be in adequate supply. This
is because most farmers have merely been forced into subsistent agriculture,
producing just enough to feed their families.

No end to Inflation

With the government still
banning importation of cash crops and other items believed to be locally
produced, it means then that even after recession, inflation might not easily
disappear which means more prolonged hardship for the populace. And as the
saying goes, a hungry man is an angry man. Many of the starved children and
youths if not properly curbed have the tendency of engaging in criminal activities
and even insurgency.

This probably explains why the
government forces are constantly being accused of human rights abuses in the
northeast. This is not because the forces are killing innocent souls as always
alleged. Perhaps, it is because innocent souls are sometimes forced by
humanitarian crises to join the insurgents in order to survive.

With the military already being
faced with a myriad of challenges including inadequate facilities and
motivation, the end therefore to insurgency might not be in sight. South Africa
for instance has only about 90, 000 active military personnel while Nigeria has
at least 130,000 according to reports. However, South Africa has 12 attack
helicopters while Nigeria has nine, 17 attack aircrafts with Nigeria again having
only nine, and among others, three submarines with Nigeria having none.

Even the towed artillery which
Nigeria has more than South Africa are either not as modern or powerful as
those used by the insurgents. They use, wherever they get them from, some of
the most sophisticated weapons including rocket-propelled grenade launchers
with almost unlimited rounds of ammunition.

The military on the other hand
who have some of these weapons in short supply most times have to make do with
short range assault rifles with not quite sufficient ammunitions to use. All
thanks to their professional training, which perhaps is the only advantage they
have against the insurgents.

Perhaps, if the field
commanders are always furnishing those at the top helm of affairs with factual
reports on how the soldiers are fairing and the level of success attained in
the fight, the government would, instead of claiming victory, renew efforts at
reinvigorating them.

Now
that it appears the government is uninformed, it is left to believe that all is
well with the region and its inhabitants, and of course the soldiers, who as at
mid – May 2017 had not received their allowances for months. What needs to be
done presently is perhaps, setting up investigative moves towards better
assessing the situation, by comparing facts whenever reports are filed from the
top military officers. That perhaps is the only way to guarantee success in the
fight against insurgency especially in the northeast region.